Piastri focused on learning – good results 'a bonus'

McLaren F1 rookie Oscar Piastri has made learning the ropes of F1 his priority from the outset this season, and he'll treat any good results that may come his way as a welcomed "bonus".

After a year on the sidelines and a bout of squabbling with former employer Alpine over his eligibility to join McLaren, Piastri is now embedded with team papaya and raring to go.

The highly rated 21-year-old driver, who enjoyed a hat trick by winning consecutive titles between 2019 and 2021 in Formula Renault Eurocup, Formula 3 and Formula 2, has been spending his days at Woking, harnessed in the team's simulator, briefing and debriefing with his crews and preparing for his official entry among motorsport's elite.

"It’s nice to see the beast alive," Piastri said in an interview with McLaren after witnessing the fire-up of the team's 2023 car.

"So yeah, all good, and it’s getting closer and closer to the start of the year now, so very, very excited."

• Read also: Stella confident Piastri inexperience won't hold McLaren back

Asked what he'll be aiming for when he lines up on the grid in Bahrain in early March, Piastri said: "Hopefully a good result."

"I don’t really know yet. But yeah, I mean, for me personally, just try and learn as much as I can, get some good results, then that would be a bonus.

"But yeah, just go out and enjoy it, enjoy my first race for over a year and have some fun and get stuck in."

My acquiring as much knowledge as possible is Piastri's main objective this year.

"My ’23 goal is to learn as much as I can," he added. "

"I think there’s a lot to learn in the world of F1 and I think, putting results aside, I think as long as I’m following everything as well as I can and learning as much as I can and doing everything in the correct way, then I think the results will come naturally.

"So do everything the right way, start off on the right foot, and make sure I have some fun too."

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